Poppies of Iraq

Written by Brigitte Findakly and Lewis Trondheim |Translated by Helge Dasher

Drawn & Quarterly (CA) 2017 - September
Written and illusatrted by Lewis Trondheim and Brigitte Findakly
Translated by Helge Dasher

Poppies of Iraq is Brigitte Findakly’s nuanced tender chronicle of her relationship with her homeland Iraq, co-written and drawn by her husband, the acclaimed cartoonist Lewis Trondheim. In spare and elegant detail, they share memories of her middle class childhood touching on cultural practices, the education system, Saddam Hussein’s state control, and her family’s history as Orthodox Christians in the arab world. Poppies of Iraq is intimate and wide-ranging; the story of how one can become separated from one’s homeland and still feel intimately connected yet ultimately estranged.

About the author: Brigitte Findakly, born in Mossoul, is a French graphic novel artist. She illustrated Lapinot, Le Chat du rabbin, Le Retour à la terre and Mickey's Craziest Adventures.

"An Iraqi childhood is cherished, examined, and let go in this tender look at youth amid upheaval... an ode to a lost era, to be sure, but one with its feet planted securely in the present."- Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

"This personal portrayal of the impact of war and societal upheaval on one family will help many Western readers to see how the past half-century of conflict has devastated a region rich in ancient culture. Small in size but large in impact, this intimate memoir is a highly relevant and compassionate story of family, community, prejudice, and the struggle to love when the forces of the world push groups apart."- Kirkus Starred Review

This treatise on the racial and political implications of jazz and jazz criticism remains a testimony to the long ignored encounter of radical African American music and French left-wing criticism. A classic volume that developed a radical new understanding of free jazz and African American culture.